What are the Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is a condition where a pregnant woman may develop diabetes due mainly to being pregnant. There are some factors to a pregnancy that is similar to an onset of diabetes which is why many women who are prone to diabetes may develop gestational diabetes. Getting to know a gestational diabetes symptom or two will not help the pregnant woman. It is best to know about most of the entire slew of gestational diabetes symptoms that just a few. Some of the gestational diabetes symptoms are the same as the early symptoms of diabetes.

Weight Gain

This gestational diabetes symptom is something that one could always expect from a pregnant woman, whether she is prone to diabetes or not. Most pregnant women gain some weight during pregnancy, which is why this gestational diabetes symptom is not noticeable at all. Along with weight gain, other gestational diabetes symptoms which may be connected to it are frequent hunger and thirst. Again, the latter two symptoms are somewhat expected from a pregnant woman which is why gestational diabetes may not be easy to spot.

The reason for the weight gain is due to the imbalance that the insulin is creating in the body system. Due to this gestational diabetes symptom, the excessive hunger follows. Excessive thirst occurs when the body extracts fluids from the blood stream to compensate for the imbalance of insulin. With the excessive thirst comes the need to go to the rest room. This gestational diabetes symptom is also a trait that many pregnant women have which is not at all helpful at all in self diagnosis.

Vaginal Infections

This is another gestational diabetes symptom that is also common for some pregnant women. The reason for this is the frequent urination that occurs during pregnancy, when the baby is big enough to affect the bladder and cause women to have frequent trips to the comfort room. Medication is necessary to treat the infections.

Realizing that a pregnant woman has gestational diabetes is a bit difficult due to the similarities between pregnancy symptoms and gestational diabetes symptoms. This is the reason why gynecologists usually ask for a blood chemistry test when the pregnant woman is around five to six months on the way. A blood chemistry test, or even a simple saliva test, can actually help to determine if the pregnant woman has a high risk of developing gestational diabetes or if she already has the condition.